Brighton · 10 weeks · Starts September 2026

Software Development Skills Bootcamp

Code like it's actually 2026.

Ten weeks to cross the line from someone who can code to someone who gets paid to. Build real software in a team, deliver a real project for a real client, and leave with a portfolio, a track record and the connections to land the work.

Talk to us

Software Development Skills Bootcamp in Brighton

For Brighton & Hove residents. Fully funded if you're out of work or self-employed.

The tech finishing school

This is a finishing school for developers. It's for people who have already crossed from consumer to maker: you can build things, but haven't yet crossed to paid professional. What's standing in the way usually isn't technical knowledge. It's real team experience, a modern AI-assisted workflow, and knowing how to turn what you can do into paid work. Over ten weeks, you close that gap for good.

Who it's for

The CS grad who's stuck.

Degree in hand, job still out of reach. Strong on theory, lighter on building real things end to end in a team.

The self-taught coder.

You've been shipping side projects and tools without a formal qualification, and you want the structure, breadth and credibility to prove it's real.

The games designer or creative technologist.

Great instincts for how software behaves, ready to move into a professional web and app context.

The career changer with a foundation.

Serious about the jump, with professional maturity and some technical grounding, and you need real project experience to make the move credible.

What you'll learn

1Front-end development: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React and Next.js.

2Back-end development: Node and Python, REST APIs, and SQL and NoSQL databases.

3AI-assisted development as your working method: Copilot, Cursor and Claude used deliberately from day one.

4Building and shipping real, AI-powered websites and apps with live LLM integrations.

5Working in teams the way studios do: agile sprints, stand-ups, Git and GitHub, pull requests and code review.

6Deployment and DevOps basics: getting software live and keeping it running.

7Testing, code quality and security: GDPR in practice and code others can trust.

8Client and professional practice: scoping, communicating, invoicing and getting paid.

9A portfolio and GitHub profile that stand up to a technical recruiter.

How the ten weeks work

Weeks 1 to 5 · Build together

Form a team, choose a brief, and ship a working, deployed, AI-powered web application.

Weeks 6 to 9 · Deliver solo

Find a real client, scope the work, then build it and hand it over. Software you can charge for.

Week 10 · Show the work

Present to employers from DabApps, Red River Software and the wider Brighton tech network, and make the connections that take it further.

The two projects

Project 1 · Ship something real (team, Weeks 1 to 5)

In a team of three or four, pick one of three briefs (an AI recommender, an AI assistant for a community, or an AI-powered tracker) and build a working, deployed, AI-powered web app. Frontend, backend, a real LLM integration and a database. It doesn't need to be pretty. It needs to be live, and built by you.

Project 2 · Get paid to build something (solo, Weeks 6 to 9)

Find a client, agree a brief, build it and hand it over. Real software delivered to a real person or organisation, with AI tools used throughout. The target is the thing that actually unsticks a career: your first piece of paid development work.

What you'll walk away with

✓A portfolio of shipped, deployed software with your name on the commits.
✓A real client project delivered and handed over.
✓Your first paid development work, or a credible, evidenced route to it.
✓A guaranteed interview, and introductions to employers in the Brighton tech network.
✓A place in the Tech Talent Network and Tech Launchpad.

Getting you paid work is our whole mission.

Every week includes a dedicated Opportunity Lab session, and it doesn't stop when the course does. You get up to six months of coaching and industry connections after you finish.

Land your first commission.

Project 2 is real paid client work. You pitch, scope, price and invoice for the first time as part of the bootcamp, not after it.

Get found by employers.

Every learner is put forward to Tech Talent Champions, where Sussex employers hire emerging tech talent.

The Opportunity Lab.

Up to six months of coaching, mentoring and introductions into industry once you have finished.

The Opportunity Lab is part of the programme and we expect you to attend. If the timing is difficult, for example because you are in work, talk to us and we will work around it where we can.

See how careers support works →

Hear from our learners

Recent learners on their experience. Clips load on click.

Who can apply

You will need to be 19 or over, a Brighton and Hove resident, and have the right to work in the UK. This one is for people who can already code: computer science graduates and serious self-taught developers who have not yet broken into paid work. It is not an introduction to programming.

Fully funded for eligible Brighton and Hove residents

This training is worth over £3,000, and it is fully funded for eligible Brighton and Hove residents. If you are out of work or self-employed and meet the criteria, your place is fully funded and you pay nothing.

Employed? Your employer co-funds part of your place: an SME pays 10% of the cost, a large employer of 250+ staff pays 30%. You still pay nothing yourself.

Eligibility confirmed at application.

Check your eligibility

This course is fully funded for eligible Brighton & Hove residents. Answer two quick questions to check.

This is a quick guide. Eligibility is always confirmed at application.